After reading many forums for more than 1 year, I came to the conclusion that we have two groups of pilots. We have the "it is a great career, go for it" and the "don't even think about it". This is probably true to almost every profession so it is pointless to do something if you don't like it. The average person changes professions 4 times in their life, because people are hardly satisfied with what they do for a living. I do think that if you work hard, create opportunities for yourself (you have to look for them, they just don't fall from the sky) and keep educating yourself, then you should succeed. If you are the type who expects things to fall from the sky, stay away from this career and any sales oriented career. Also, we are in a time where you should think about aviation from a global perspective and not so much from a national view. Other parts of the world are growing and will continue to grow because they are younger economies and have more upside room. If you just want to stay in the US, know your risk, and listen to everyone including Skyhigh. He understands this business and don’t look at him quitting aviation like a failure. Maybe doors didn’t open for him, maybe he had a family who did not wanted to move giving him limited choices (you don’t know his life, is what I’m trying to say). He is right about many things and history does repeat itself from time to time, but nobody really know how much worst or better it will be from last time because economies do change, but economic principles don't. Everyone is trying to guess and make predictions based on past experiences, but as you know the past doesn't determine the future. Is it the right time to go into it? Only time will tell, but usually in a down economy is good to get ready for the upswing. I have friend doing MBA’s who are worry about jobs and salaries and the glut of MBA’s out there because of massive layoffs from banks. Pilots are not the only ones who are worry.
One thing I notice is that people on these forums tend to compare an aviation career to a doctor, lawyer, investment banker, (higher income careers) etc and hardly to jobs where the majority of the people work. Maybe this is because as a pilot, you have a chance, chance is the key word here, of making a decent income at some point( not as much as before), but it is better than the average income out there. Also remember, for every good story about any career (doctors, lawyers, dentist, etc) there were many who failed along the way. Just look at how many people take the MCAT, GMAT, etc and how many actually finish a degree and become successful. You could also go to a college who offers pre-med and see how many students in the first year and how many actually finish medical school? Believe me, the majority won't make it or will change major.
Only you know if you want it bad enough and that goes for every career, and only you could determine how far you'll go. Are other careers a safer bet? Must likely yes and more in the healthcare field, but is it something do you want to do for a living? Just remember, think of aviation from a global point of view and you will see more open doors.